Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Self Belief

In today's blog we are on number three of the series entitled, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. We will focus on the ever important subject of self-belief.

Talent, ability, skills, training and opportunities are all essential elements that one must have to experience success. However, I submit to you that the absence of self-belief is a sure way to retard any potential achievements. Believing in one's self is bigger than just about the ability that you have. It is a catalyst that keeps you in the game when all the signs around you point to failure. I came across a study recently which was spearheaded by Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University in California. It was entitled Growth Mindset, and if you do some searching online you will find some good information. The idea behind this study is that an individual's drive, discipline and determination toward achieving can help make up the talent or intelligence gap when compared to their contemporaries. The study tracked students from a young age for a number of years and found that children who were identified as having comparatively less ability than their peers were able to make up that achievement gap. And in some cases supersede those who were significantly more advanced at the same starting point.

In other words, students were able to effectively make themselves smarter by simply believing and willing themselves into working harder.

Isn't this simply outstanding? How many times do we limit ourselves to societal standards and groupings? This thinking has caused many persons to view themselves less capable than others and effectively stunt any growth and development, by quenching all belief and desire to achieve. The study also goes on to demonstrate that those who were labeled as having advanced intelligence and ability have to fight the tendency to be lax when it comes to discipline and desire. Why? See, it’s easy for someone to believe in themselves or their ability when they never really faced major challenges. But how they cope when the challenges do come is extremely important. Be reminded that someone on the other side of the spectrum would have been facing challenges all their lives, so they would already have experience in dealing with them.

That said, it does not matter where on the ability scale you find yourself. The potential for you to advance and achieve beyond your societal labeling depends on you. You must have that self-belief that pushes you past the purported limits and be the over achiever that you have the potential to be.

So where are you today? Have your eyes been opened to the fact that the one thing you are not born with or that you could get qualified in is essential to maximizing your natural talent, academic achievements and professional qualifications? Yes, self-belief is a trait that you have to extract and perfect yourself. No one can force you to believe more in yourself. You can only be inspired to do so. My hope is that after reading today's blog you are inspired and begin to chart a course beyond your initial expectations.

It is never too late!

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.